#134 - Chickens, Southern Manners, and Taylor Swift

Do you keep your closet organized by keeping seasonal clothes removed from the mix? When Deputy Dave and I lived in Germany, this was actually a fun seasonal chore...remove summer things and put them in a box to store under the bed for winter. But, here in Texas we find ourselves with a closet holding seasonal clothing all together. Except for the sweaters that are put away or tucked away during summertime, a Texan's wardrobe often caters to dressing lightly, for the heat. We don't know much about seasonal closet organization because it doesn't really apply to us.

One thing is certain, Texas is known for having chaotic weather. One day will be toasty in the 80's and the next will be in the 40's.

Here I am, summer before last, on the beach
in my SUNDRESS and cowboy hat.

It can feel odd to be outside with the kids, letting them play with the water hose on a hot day while knowing the weather man said tomorrow will be a cold, cold day that will require coats, hats and NO SANDALS!

So often, here in Texas, the seasons change only in name. Fall may not necessarily have anything but green, green, green everywhere. Winter may not necessarily have what Northerners would call a "cold" day. We basically live in a perpetual state of Spring and Summer. I can't really complain; I like it.

Frankly, if I had to choose, I'd rather be warm than cold. Actually, I'd rather live with weather that is "just right." For us Texans, that means a day that's warm enough to go to the beach with a soft breeze, yet not so hot as to sweat or a nice afternoon on the front porch without feeling as if we're in a sauna. High 70's, low 80's is pretty much perfect in my book. Sometimes, that's a tall order for Texas living.

A perfect day at Galveston's beach.

Our weather here in Texas is masterful at contradicting the seasons. Every now and then, it will be December, yet hot and stuffy, but you'll still see someone walking around in a thick turtle-neck sweater and boots designed for trekking through the snow. It's as if they are so desperate to wear their winter clothes that they don't care if they look like a lost Eskimo. I've considered that these inappropriately dressed people might be traveling to the South, for the first time, and are unaware that they should've also packed summer clothes, even though they are here only for Christmas.

I think Texans eye such people with wariness because they wonder how long it will be before these unfortunate people will fall over from self-inflicted heat stroke. To be fair, I can say that unless I had lived many years of my life in Europe, I'd not have a clue as to how to dress for visiting Northern states. Dressing in layers cannot be over-emphasized, it's how we survived in Germany. In Texas, we avoid stuffy layered clothing, unless you enjoy doing laundry.

Deputy Dave with his older brother Mark --- Mark is holding
his youngest daughter, adorable Aimee! Deputy Dave is
wearing one of his favorite shirts, with panels that open for the breeze
to blow in on the skin; these are his fishing shirts.

Here we are, it's November and this past week we've had a couple of days in the 80 degree range. My winter coat is surely in need of a good cleaning because it sits lonely and unworn in the far recesses of my closet. My leather boots need a good polishing, and I dread having to be bundled up in too many clothes --- I don't like feeling stifled.

I'm a true Southern gal. I love wearing a flowing, airy sundress with spaghetti straps. Sundresses are my thing. Even today, as I sit here typing, I'm wearing my sundress. Sometimes I watch old movies and am salivating at the designs and the former beauty that was once put into sewing the old-days-gone-by sundresses. It makes me want to lug out the sewing machine and get to work on creating some of my own designs. I often visit TEXAN at http://www.texan.blogspot.com/ and salivate over her sewing abilities. She sews on a professional level. Also, Karen over at http://www.krensgarden-karen.blogspot.com/ amazed me by sewing the stylish, elegant jacket she wore this past year to her class reunion.

So many blog buddies sew and are inspirational in this area. For me, a woman sewing is similar to a man doing wood-work, I've done a little of both and they relate so much to each other...patterns, measuring, cutting, putting the pieces together...trying to not bring the potty-mouth into the equation.

I would like to have a closet full of sundresses in my closet, perhaps a few made with fabric that has chickens incorporated into the fabric, for extra fun for when the kids visit. I'm thinking, these dresses might be a great idea for myself. Give me some leeway --- I'm moving to the country, so I will be allowed to be extra quirky with designing things that have chickens involved.

Yes, I think that I will become more eccentric the older I get. After all, isn't that the fun part of getting older? For my husband's pleasure, perhaps I'll sew myself a few sundresses with Aggie fabric...yes...we are getting old in THAT area as well. Let's spice things up baby! I can imagine walking into the living room to show off my newly sewn Aggie sundress as Deputy Dave admires me with glowing fascination. How about THIS Aggie attire? After 25 years of marriage, I KNOW what makes my man happy!

Goodness, I'm on a roll. All of my loyal readers already KNOW that I will very likely follow through with this creative thought, as soon as the holidays are finished and I have room to drudge out the sewing machine and buy some Aggie fabric. Heck, I might sew a game-day dress!

As for this past weekend, we got to spend all day Saturday and Sunday with my niece, Shaye. Talk about being on a roll...two weekends consecutively pulling babysitter duty. Don't I live the enviable life style?

Anyway, as for Shaye...that kid has been taught typical Southern manners, Yes Maam, No Sir, Please, Thank You, Excuse Me and such. These words are a natural part of her regular vocabulary, nothing is contrived, just good old-fashioned KNOWING your manners and using them as second-nature is already her nature.

And YES, I am growing Blue Bell ice-cream.

She's five, but I sure love to see a young child who has been raised with manners. It makes a difference.

Shaye has lost her first tooth. She lost it while playing at church a couple of Sundays ago with her parents nearby. The Tooth Fairy brought her two $1 bills and her mother took her to the dollar store so she could have a ball spending her money.

So, we had a great weekend together. On Saturday, I made a big lunch and that afternoon I was tuckered out. Laying down in my bed upstairs, reading, Shaye walked in and asked if she could crawl into bed and cuddle. Oh My Gosh --- Of Course!! Such a doll! She and I talked about how grown up she's getting and how we will be doing different things as she ages. For now, we play Barbies and read books, later, she'll be reading her own books, but we'll be going to the movies together and perhaps to the mall for a fun trip. Shaye would smile so big, letting me see the gap where the missing tooth is evident.

I continued to read my book as Shaye laid her head on my shoulder. She had her hand laying on my arm and with heavy, sleepy eyes, she said, "You feel, to me, just like my mommy."

A lump grew in my throat. Such a compliment! I put my hand on hers and said, "You feel, to me, just like one of my own daughters when they were little like you."

Shaye smiled big and drifted off to sleep.

These precious moments cannot be bought.

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NOW...FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR MY FAMILY...WE HAD SOMEONE IN THE FAMILY ACTUALLY GET TO SEE TAYLOR SWIFT IN CONCERT!

My youngest, Stefie, had a very exciting weekend (LAST weekend) as she went to see Taylor Swift perform in Houston. Meanwhile, on that same weekend, Deputy Dave and I were babysitting the entire weekend for his niece and nephew.

Stefie at the Taylor Swift concert.

Her boyfriend had purchased tickets many months ago and their seats were directly on the floor, same level as the stage with Taylor Swift at MinuteMaid Park with 42,000 people, a sold out show.

Stefie is a HUGE Taylor Swift fan.

Stefie always sings along to every song of Taylor Swift; Stefie has a heavenly voice. Stefie had been in choir all through school, she sang Opera songs in Italian, had private voice lessons, and she literally could probably pursue singing career-wise, but she is content to sing along with Miss. Swift.

Stefie said Taylor Swift was a great LIVE performer and the entire experience was wonderful.

Here, you can see how close Stefie and Brice are
to the stage. Great Seats! Good job Brice!

For the guys, like Brice, the good boyfriends...there was another performer that came out to sing with Taylor Swift...NELLY. For the young-ins...Nelly is awesome, a great contrast in performing styles to enjoy.

Well, I have more to add, but I can't seem to catch up with blogging about all the things that happen in our lives day by day. It feels as if I am living a slow-paced life, but when I begin to blog about my boring little life, I can't seem to catch up in words to all of our pictures that we constantly take throughout the week of our activities. I guess our combined lives are FULL to the brim.

I might need to slow down with our living a little bit so I can catch up with my blogging.

Smile everyone!